Electric igniting apparatus



Feb. I, 1944. J. J.-SHIVELY ELECTRIC manna Armnmus Griginal Filed May27. 1939 2' Sheets-Sheet 1 ATTORNEY Feb. 1, 1944.

J. J. SHI VELY ELECTRIC IGNITING APPARATUS Original Filed May 27, 1939 2Sheets-Sheet 2 m mi INVENTOR do/m d. Shively Mv-w ATTORNEY Patented Feb.1, 1944 ELECTRIC IGNITING APPARATUS John J. Shively, New York, N. Y.

Original application May 27, 1939, Serial No. 276,067. Divided and thisapplication May 23, 1941, Serial No. 394,741

3 Claims.

This invention pertains to improvements in electric igniting apparatus,the present application being a divisional application of co-pendingapplication Serial No. 276,067 filed May 27, 1939.

An object of the invention is to provide means for lighting a cigaretteor the like with positive air blast instead of with suction.

A further object is to provide a device of the above nature including anelectric heating unit and means to force a draft of air through oracross the heating unit into or against the end of the object to beignited.

Another object is to provide a device of the above nature including adash pot adapted to prolong the action for proper lighting while at thesame time furnishing the air current.

Another object is to provide a device of the above nature which issimple and reliable in action and which may be cheaply manufactured.

Other objects and advantages will become evident during the course ofthe following description in connection with the accompanying drawings,in which- Figure 1 is a vertical longitudinal sectional view of apreferred form of the invention;

Figure 2 is a front view of the same with the cover plate removed andthe operating rod and guide in section;

Figure 3 is a fragmental detail view of the indexing mechanism;

Figure 4 is a fragmental detail section showing a cigarette in lightingposition;

Figure 5 is a bottom view on the line 5, Figure 1; and

Figure 6 is a front elevation.

Referring to Figure 1, the numeral indicates a rear head to which issecured a cylinder I. A front head I2 is in turn secured to the cylinderII. The front head |2 has a central guide l3 in which is slidablymounted a piston rod l4. The front portion of the piston rod I4 is ofreduced diameter, joining the main portion at an angular shoulder IS. Apull knob I1 is provided on the front end of the reduced rod portion 5::

A piston l8, having a sealing cup IQ of leather or other suitableyielding material slidable in :the cylinder is secured to the rear endof the rod M by means of an insulating nut 20. A conical compressionspring 2|, disposed between the front head l2 and the piston I8,normally holds the latter to the right as shown in Figure 1.

A binding post 22, insulatedly secured in the middle of the rear memberH], has an interior contact head 23 normallyreceived in a counterbore 24in the insulating nut 20. A spring switch arm 25, secured in aninsulating block 26, as a forked free end 2| underlying the contact head23 but normally held clear thereof by th end edges of the insulatingpiston nut 20.

A cage or magazine 28, Figures 1 and 2; is mounted on the outside of thecylinder so as to be readily rotatable thereon. The magazine comprises aseries of circumferentially spaced pockets 29 each adapted to receive acigarette 30. In the present embodiment the number of pockets istwenty-one, allowing for the storage of twenty cigarettes with anadditional pocket for the lighting and discharging position ashereinafter described. It will be understood, however, that the devicemay be constructed with a greater or smaller number of pockets,depending on the size and desired application of the device.

An outer shell 3|, adapted to retain th cigarettes 30 in the pockets 29,is held in place in a rear clamp member 32 and an extension 33 of therear head H). A front cover ring 34 is snapped or otherwise detachablysecured to the shell 3|. The shell 3| has a longitudinal dischargeopening 35 located in the bottom thereof and.over liyng an inclinedreceiving basket 36 adapted. to catch and retain a discharged cigarette.

The magazine or cage 28 has at its forward end a series of inwardlydirected radial lugs. 31, one for each pocket 29, and hereinafterreferred to as ratchet lugs. A cylindrical extension 38 of the fronthead i2 lies within the circle of the lugs 31 and has a deep notch 39 inits lower portion. The notch 39 may have its bottom inclined inwardly inthe clockwise direction, Figure 2, and terminates in an abutment 40. Adished plate 4| engages the cylindrical extension 38 and has its lowerportion cut away as shown in Figure 2. The central portion of the plate4| encircles the top of a stepped collar 42, the plate and collar beingsecured on the outer end of the guide l3 by means of a nut 43, Figure 1,this nut as well as the cover plate 34 being removed in Figure 2 to showthe relation of the operating parts most clearly.

A lever 44, hereinafter referred to as the control lever, is rotatablymounted on the collar 42, being retained between the latters innerflange and the plate 4|. A tension spring 45, Figure 2, hooked to theinner side of the dished plate 4| and to the control lever 44, urges thelatter counterclockwise. The lever 44 has an inwardly turned foot 46,Figures 4 and 5, normally held to one side of the main longitudinalopening 35 in the shell 3|, as shown in Figure 5, so as to allow anycigarette occupying the bottom pocket 29 to drop out as hereinafter explained.

An indexing rod 41 has a middle portion forming a ball 48 movablysocketed and retained in the guide portion I3 of the front head 12. Theguide portion I3 is cut away as illustrated at 49 to allow the rod 41rocking motion either in an inward direction as illustrated in dot anddash lines, Figure 1, or in a rotary direction as shown in Figure 3. Adiagonal tension spring 50 normally holds the rear portion of the rod 41against the reduced portion l5 of the piston rod l4 and in engagementwith the shoulder [5-, the rod 41 in this position lying clear of thelugs 31.

When the knob I1 is pulled outward the shoulder l6 first rocks the rearportion 5i of the rod 41 straight outward, causing the front end thereofto move inward behind 9. lug 31 until the rod encounters the inclinedinner surface of the notch 39 which restrains the inward motion.Continued outward movement of the piston rod '14 thereafter causes theinclined shoulder E6 to shift the rear portion 5| of the indexing rod 41diametrically as shown in Figure 3, the end of rod 41 engaging the lug31 and rotating the magazine case 28. By this means, at each outwardpull of the knob- IT, the cage 28 is positively indexed through arotative distance equal to the spacing between adjacent pockets 29, thepockets thus being successively brought into registry with the bottomdischarge opening 35. An inwardly turned lug 44 on the lever 44 engagesthe rod 41 so that as the rod is swung, the lever 44 is also swung tobring the foot 45 below the lowest magazine slot 29 as shown in Figure3. At each return of the piston rod 14 to normal position, as shown inFigure 1, the spring 50 also returns the indexing rod 41 to normalposition ready for the next indexing action, the lever 44 being alsoreturned by its spring 45.

A leaf spring pawl 52 is secured to the inner side of the dished plate4i and is adapted to suecessively spring inward behind the lugs 31 toprevent possible return motion of the cage 28. The

pressure of this spring pawl also serves normally to prevent rattling ofthe cage due to vibration, for example in automobile use.

A hollow cylindrical member 53 of electrical insulating and heatresisting material such as porcelain or the like, is disposed in theforward end of the rear member B, and contains an electrical heatingunit of any suitable form such as a conical spiral of resistance ribbon54. A ring 55, also of insulating material, ispressed against the rearend of the member 53 by a threaded plug '56, thus clamping the member 53in place. The ring 55 also clamps the two ends of the heater unit ribbon54 respectively against the outer end of the switch arm 25 and theinterior of extension 33. By this arrangement it will be seen that theheater 54 is electrically connected at one end to the insulated switcharm and is grounded at the other end to the body of the device.

The inner end of the retaining plug 55 contains a central chamber 51 incommunication through a hole 58 with the large air chamber 5!! insidethe rear cylinder head H1. The interior of the ring 55 comprises arestricted orifice or nozzle 60 adapted to project air from the chamber51 through the heating unit 54 as illustrated in Figure 4.

The rear head 18 has therein a number of large inlet air holes Blcontrolled by a light resilient faced inlet valve 62 normally held shutby a light spring spider 63.

The head ID may be formed with a semicircular abutment 64 havingthreaded holes 65 for attaching the device to any desired support,either directly or by means of suitable brackets or clamps.

Taking as typical the use of the device in an automobile, the device isattached to a suitable portion of the car in such maner that the rearhead member In is grounded, and the binding post 22 is connected by awire to the cars electrical system. As the nut 20 normally holds theswitch arm 25 out of contact with the head 23 of post.22, no circuitnormally exists through the heating unit 54.

The operation is as follows: The detachable cap 34 is removed andcigarettes 30 inserted in all pockets 29 except the lowest or lightingand discharge pocket 29*, after which the cap 34 is. replaced.

When the operator requires a lighted cigarette he pulls out the knob I1,preferably to its fullest extent, compressing the spring 2!. Thisoperation performs three functions as follows: The indexing rod 41 isactuated to rotate the cage 28 as previously described, bringing acigarette 3| into line with the heating unit 54, in which position thecigarette is supported at its front and rear ends respectively by thefoot of lever 44 and the small rear end portion of the shell 3|, asshown in Figure 4. Secondly, the initial withdrawal of theinsulatedpiston nut 25) allows the switch arm 25 to spring into contact with thehead 23 of the binding post 22, causing current to flow through theheating unit 54 and bring the latter to incandescence. Thirdly, theoutward movement of the piston It draws a charge of air inward past thevalve 62 into the cylinder ll.

When the knob 11 is released the spring 2| expands to force the piston13 inward. The air trapped ahead of the piston can find egress onlythrough-the hole 58 and nozzle orifice 60, and is consequently forcedoutward through the latter, thence through the heater 54 and against theend of the cigarette 30 The air passing through the incandescent heater54 is heated thereby to a high temperature, and the blast of hot airdriven against and into the end of the cigarette and aided by directradiation from the heater 54, lights the end of the cigarette. Thesmallness of the orifice delays the return of the piston to normalposition, thus allowing the lighting action to continue for ample timeto assure proper ignition of the cigarette.

As the piston rod I4 approaches normal position to release the indexingrod 41 as previously described, the spring 45 swings the control lever44 to the side position shown in Figure 2. The

- foot 46 is thereby moved from under the front end of the lightedcigarette 30 allowing the latter to topple down into the basket 36whereit comes to rest as shown in dot and dash lines in Figure 1. In thisposition, it is readily picked up by the smoker. At the conclusion ofthe inward piston stroke the nut 20 forces the switch arm 25 out ofcontact with the binding post head 23, thus breaking the circuit throughthe hcating unit 54.

Breather holes 66 are provided in the front head I 2 to prevent anycompression or vacuum in the front part of the cylinder l l. Due to theconstriction of the orifice 65, its resistance to the passage of air isso much greater than that of the inlet valve 62 on the suction strokethat any inward flow through the hole 58 is so small as to benegligible. It is obvious, of course, that a check valve of any commontype may be provided therein, but in the preferred form shown, this isunnecessary for the reason stated above.

From the foregoing description of the structure and operation, it willbe evident to those skilled in the art that the invention presents manyadvantages over prior devices, some of which are as follows:

The dash-pot action performs the double function of sustaining thelighting action and at the same time furnishing a positive air blast toinsure thorough lighting. The use of this positive blast, instead ofsuction as used in some prior devices, eliminates the necessity foraccurate registration of the cigarette With a suction opening and aisoavoids any outside connection to a source of suction such as anautomobile inlet manifold, the only connection necessary for the presentinvention other than the grounded mounting being the wire to the bindingpost 22. The device thus being substantially self-contained allows greatease and latitude in location in a vehicle. The lack of suction tubesinto which smoke is drawn eliminates such common troubles as plugging upof tubes with gum deposits, leaking or breaking of tubes, or failure ofthe source of suction for example when the engine is stopped. Thecigarette normally does not come into contact with the heating unitduring lighting, the lighting being accomplished by combined radiationand hot air blast, as previously set forth. Obviously, therefore, theheating unit is kept free from any troubles due to adhering ashes orpartially burned tobacco, which troubles are Well known characteristicsof the contact type of unit. It will be noted that the closing of theelectric circuit at the beginning of the outward piston stroke allowsthe heating unit some time to be heated before the start of the airblast. Finally, each cigarette occupies its individual pocket 29 in themagazine cage 28 and is individually controlled at all times, so thatinterference and clogging of cigarette feed cannot occur even in case ofimperfect cigarettes.

The removable cap 34 may be formed with windows 6'! overlying an innertransparent strip 68 cemented or otherwise secured on the inside of thecap. These windows permit the number of cigarettes in the magazine to beobserved. An open hole 69, Figures 1 and 6, is provided in the cap 34 inline with the heating unit 54. This hole 69, together with a slot 10 inthe lever 44, allow for the escape of air and smoke which may be driventhrough the cigarette 30 by the air blast.

While the invention has been described in preferred form, it is notlimited to the exact structures illustrated as various changes andmodications may be made without departing from the scope of the appendedclaims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a device of the character described, in combination, a dash-pot,means to operate said dash-pot whereby a charge of air may be trappedtherein, a heating element, means controllable by said operating meansto energize said heating element, means to position a cigarette with theend thereof adjacent said heating element, said element and saidadjacent end being in direct communication with the exterior atmosphere,and means to discharge all said trapped air in a direct blast throughsaid element and against the end of said cigarette.

2. In a cigarette lighting device, in combination, a heating element,means to position a cigarette with the end thereof adjacent but spacedfrom said heating element, said element and said adjacent end being infree. communication with the outer atmosphere and means to direct aconcentrated blast of air through said element and against said end ofsaid cigarette.

3. In a cigarette lighting device, in combination, an open heatingelement adapted to radiate heat, means to position a cigarette adjacentbut spaced from said element with the end of said cigarette exposed tosaid radiant heat whereby an igniting effect may be produced in saidend, and pneumatic means including a blast nozzle directly behind saidelement to determine the duration of said igniting effect whileincreasing the intensity of the same.

JOHN J. SHIVELY.

